CHAPTER 94: DON’T MESS AROUND

"This will be your dormitory. There are two rooms, so you can divide them however you like. This is only temporary—later on, you’ll be able to move into a larger one."

Elly, ShineOn’s new manager, spoke softly as she handed the keys to Henry. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to remind them, "You’re all idols now, so I hope you’ll think carefully about what you say in public—what can be said and what can’t. And remember to cover up properly when you go out. Oh, right, there are cameras installed throughout the house; we need some footage for the vlog. As for schedules, I’ll inform your leader. You should decide on one as soon as possible."

Joshua immediately raised his hand. "The leader should definitely be Henry."

Justin, hearing that, also raised his hand. "I vote for Henry, too."

Leonard couldn’t help but shoot them both a look. "What are you, elementary school kids? And why am I not the leader?!"

Just then, Henry suddenly raised his hand as well and said in a calm voice, "I can be the leader."

Leonard: "..."

Joshua grinned at him. "You’re voting for yourself, huh?"

Joshua’s cheek was immediately pinched. Leonard looked absolutely furious.

Elly glanced over at ShineOn. She’d been worried about Leonard’s temperament, but it seemed like the group got along better than she’d expected. In truth, the company had already intended for Henry to be the leader from the start—Elly had only asked to see how the others felt about it.

Her gaze lingered briefly on Joshua, who was surrounded in the middle, then swept across the others before she nodded. "Alright, I’ve noted your preferences. Enjoy your break, everyone."

With that, she turned and left.

After all, their vacation had officially begun!

However, the pressing issue was how to divide the rooms.

As Luther came out of the bathroom, he immediately wrapped his arms around Joshua and plopped down onto the sofa, practically shielding him in his embrace.

Tilting his chin up, he declared confidently, "Joshua and I will definitely share a room. The three of you can take the other one."

Joshua said nothing in response.

Leonard’s brows furrowed at once. "What? Why are you and Joshua in the same room?!"

"Because we’re best friends," Luther replied matter-of-factly.

Leonard let out a short, angry laugh and turned to Joshua. "Joshua, you decide. Who do you want to room with?"

Joshua: "..." This... isn’t weird at all, right? Why was he the one being made to choose?

But before Joshua could say anything, Henry spoke up. "Let’s draw lots."

Everyone turned to look at him. Henry repeated slowly, "We’ll draw lots to decide rooms. That’s the fairest way."

The others exchanged glances and didn’t object.

"Joshua, you draw first." Luther nudged Joshua forward and, out of habit, patted him on the back.

Joshua didn’t hesitate. The moment he pulled out a slip of paper, Leonard leaned right in and asked, "What number did you get?"

Luther also leaned in from Joshua’s other shoulder, looking just as curious.

Joshua pushed both their faces away. "It’s a secret."

Leonard immediately rolled up his sleeves. "Fine, I’ll go next."

In the end, Leonard drew number three. That was fine—he’d be in the three-person room with Joshua. The question was whether Joshua had drawn number three as well.

"Number three," Luther announced loudly. At the same time, Leonard turned to look at him.

They locked eyes for a second before both turning away with a snort.

Luther rushed over to Joshua. "Joshua, what number did you get?"

"Number three—"

At that exact moment, Justin’s voice called out from across the room, "Number three." Luther froze. Joshua then showed his slip—an enormous number two written across it, nearly making Luther dizzy.

Joshua hopped over to Henry, grinning from ear to ear. "Looks like we’re roommates, leader."

Henry nodded calmly, crumpling his own paper tightly in his hand.

"This isn’t fair!" Leonard shouted in frustration.

Luther protested too. "Henry’s the one who wrote those slips, isn’t he? There’s definitely something fishy going on here!"

Joshua pushed Luther’s face away again. "Take it like a grown-up. It’s just room assignments anyway—we used to share one room before, remember?"

Luther pressed his lips together, shooting Henry a not-so-friendly look.

Joshua didn’t get it. These guys were all so suspicious—being with him was clearly the safest option!

How could clueless Joshua possibly tell who might have bad intentions toward him?!

Ignoring Luther, Joshua grabbed Henry by the wrist and dragged him to their room.

Their room wasn’t big—just enough space for two beds and a narrow walkway between them.

The wardrobe was outside, shared by everyone.

Joshua let go of Henry and immediately started arranging his nightstand.

First came a dozen tiny bottles of nail polish, followed by a few small items, such as a comb and lip balm. After that, he flopped onto the bed and rolled around once. The only downside was that the bed wasn’t big enough—it was just a single, so moving around wasn’t very comfortable. Suddenly, he missed his bed back home.

Glancing at Henry, he noticed a few soda cans and some candy neatly lined up on Henry’s nightstand.

Right then, Henry suddenly stood up, tore open a bag of candy, revealing a translucent pink sweet inside, and held it up to Joshua’s lips.

Joshua instinctively opened his mouth, letting the candy drop in.

Then, both of them froze for a moment. Henry stiffened in place, while Joshua tilted his head up to meet his gaze, blinking. One of his cheeks puffed out slightly from the candy in his mouth.

It felt... natural, as if things were supposed to be this way.

Henry pressed his lips together, his large hand gently ruffling Joshua’s hair before turning away as though nothing had happened. Still, his thumb and forefinger rubbed together unconsciously—the lingering softness of those lips refusing to fade.

"Hey, are you embarrassed?" a light, teasing voice piped up behind him.

Joshua bounced after Henry, grinning. "Your ears are all red, you kn—"

Before Joshua could finish, Henry suddenly pushed him. Joshua stumbled backwards and fell onto Henry’s bed, the soft mattress bouncing him slightly.

Henry frowned. Joshua was just about to tease him again when he suddenly felt fingers scratching at his stomach.

His eyes went wide as his whole body curled up from laughter. "Hahaha—Henry! I’m sorry, hahaha—I’m sorry! Let me go, hahaha—I won’t do it again!"

Only then did Henry release him and straighten up.

Joshua was laughing so hard he could barely breathe, clutching his stomach as tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. The moment he was free, he scrambled off Henry’s bed and, after putting some distance between them, shouted, "How can you be so childish?!"

"You’re just ticklish," Henry replied flatly, lowering his gaze, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

Joshua frowned. "Who isn’t ticklish when someone scratches their stomach?"

Henry only looked at him in silence, but Joshua could feel the challenge in his eyes.

With a determined yell, Joshua lunged forward, attacking Henry’s waist with both hands. He stared right at Henry’s face—only to find that it didn’t even twitch. Not a single change in expression!

Impossible! he thought, muttering, "It’s because you’ve got too many muscles..."

It was true—the abs beneath Joshua’s palms were firm and defined. Six-pack? Maybe even eight?

"Don’t mess around." Henry’s voice came suddenly, lower than usual—deeper.

"What, you can tickle me but I can’t tickle you?"

No way that was fair! Joshua was thinking that when his eyes suddenly caught something.

Henry’s pants.

Joshua froze. His eyes widened, and he slowly looked up—only to find Henry staring down at him, his dark eyes deep and unreadable.

Henry grabbed Joshua’s wrists, his voice quiet but firm as he repeated, "Don’t mess around."